Norfuk language
Norfolk | |
---|---|
Norfuk, Norf'k | |
Pronunciation | [nɔːfuk] |
Region | Norfolk Island |
Native speakers | 2,000 (2002–2017)[1] 6 on Lord Howe Island[2] |
English–Tahitian creole
| |
Latin | |
Official status | |
Official language in | Norfolk Island[3] |
Language codes | |
ISO 639-3 | pih Pitcairn-Norfolk |
Glottolog | pitc1234 Pitcairn-Norfolk |
Linguasphere | 52-ABB-dd |
IETF | pih-NF |
Norfuk is classified as Vulnerable by the UNESCO Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger |
Norfuk (
Norfuk has always been a linguistic cant.[7] As travel to and from Norfolk Island becomes more common, Norfuk is falling into disuse.[8] Efforts are being made to restore the language to more common usage, such as the education of children, the publication of English–Norfuk dictionaries, the use of the language in signage, and the renaming of some tourist attractions – most notably the rainforest walk "A Trip Ina Stik" – to their Norfuk equivalents. In 2007, the United Nations added Norfuk to its list of endangered languages.[9]
History
In the 1970s, the Norfolk community and specialists from mainland Australia noted that the Norfuk language was falling into decline, prompting discussions about how to implement Norfolk into the school system.[10] At this point in time, Norfuk did not have a standardized writing system, as it was mostly an oral language. The Society of the Descendants of Pitcairn Islanders, founded in 1977, was a driving force behind the campaign to include Norfuk language as a teachable subject in schools.[10] Faye Bataille was one of the first to teach Norfolk classes in public schools, in the 1980s.
The first Norfolk dictionary was compiled in 1986 by Beryl Nobbs-Palmer.[10] It was titled A Dictionary of Norfolk words and usages and contained examples of words in the Norfuk language and how to use them.
The book Speak Norfuk Today was written by Alice Buffett and Dr Donald Laycock. It is an encyclopedia incorporating a large majority of the information about the Norfuk language and was one of the first instances in which the orthography of Norfuk was documented.[10]
Norfuk became a language of Norfolk Island in 2004 by virtue of the Norfolk Island Language (Norf'k) Act 2004 passed by the island's legislative assembly.[11][4]
In 2018, Eve Semple and colleagues received a grant from the Australian Research Council, in order to promote and facilitate revival.[12]
Relationship to Pitkern
Norfuk is descended predominantly from the
Classification
Norfuk has been classified as an
The language is closely related to Pitkern but has no other close relatives other than its parent tongues of English and Tahitian. It is generally considered that English has had more of an influence upon the language than Tahitian, with words of Tahitian extraction being confined largely to taboo subjects, negative characterisations, and adjectives indicating that something is undesirable.[15]
Many expressions which are not commonly used in modern English that are spoken in most areas of the world carry on in Pitkern. These expressions include words from British maritime culture in the age of sailing ships. The influence of
In the mid-19th century, the people of Pitcairn resettled on Norfolk Island; later, some moved back. Most speakers of Pitkern today are the descendants of those who stayed. Pitkern and
The Norfolk language is ordered in subject verb object.[17]
Phonology
One target sounds | Two target sounds | |
---|---|---|
group 1 | group 2 | |
i | e | ʌʊ |
ɪ | o | ɑɪ |
ɛ | ɔɪ | |
æ | ||
ɑ | ||
ɒ | ||
ɔ | ||
ʊ | ||
u | ||
ɜ | ||
ʌ |
Orthography
The language is largely a spoken rather than written language,[19] and there is a lack of standardisation.[15] However, a number of attempts have been made at developing an orthography for the language. Early attempts either attempted to enforce English spelling onto the Norfuk words,[20] or used diacritical marks to represent sounds distinct to the language.
Alice Buffett, a Norfolk Island parliamentarian and Australian-trained linguist, developed a codified grammar and orthography for the language in the 1980s, assisted by Dr Donald Laycock, an Australian National University academic. Their book, Speak Norfuk Today, was published in 1988. This orthography has won the endorsement of the Norfolk Island government, and its use is becoming prevalent.[21]
Vocabulary
The language itself does not have words to express some concepts, particularly those having to do with science and technology. Some Islanders believe that the only solution is to create a committee charged with creating
Norfuk vocabulary has been heavily influenced by the history of Norfolk Island. Many words were created for specific animals or plants on the island and the way in which these things are named is unique to the Island of Norfolk.[23] For example, many fish that are indigenous to the island were named either by the people who caught them or by whoever received them after dividing the catch.[23] One such instance is the naming of the fish Sandford which received its name by a man named Sandford Warren after receiving the fish as his share.[23]
Personal pronouns
Subject | Object | Possessive | Predicate | |
---|---|---|---|---|
1sg | ai | mii | mais | main |
2sg | yu | yuu | yus | yoen |
3sg.masc | hi | hem | his | |
3sg.fem | shi | her | hers | |
1du.excl.masc | miienhem | auwas | miienhis | |
1du.excl.fem | miienher | miienhers | ||
1du.incl | himii | himiis | ||
2du | yutuu | yutuus | ||
3du | demtuu | demtuus | ||
1pl | wi | aklan | auwas | |
2pl | yorlyi | yorlyis | ||
3pl | dem | dems |
There is also et for 'it' in its object form.
See also
- Languages of Norfolk Island
- Pitkern language
References
- ^ Norfolk at Ethnologue (25th ed., 2022)
- ^ "2016 Census QuickStats: Lord Howe Island".
- ^ "Archived copy". www.info.gov.nf. Archived from the original on 25 July 2008. Retrieved 12 January 2022.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^ a b Norfolk Island Language (Norf'k) Act 2004 [Act No. 25 of 2004], 18 June 2015
- )
- ^ "Save our dialect, say Bounty islanders". The Daily Telegraph. 19 April 2005. Archived from the original on 10 December 2005. Retrieved 6 April 2007.
- ^ a b Donald Laycock (1989) 'The Status of Pitcairn-Norfolk: Creole, Dialect or Cant? In Ammon (ed.) Status and Function of Language and Language Varieties, Walter de Gruyter
- ^ Feizkhah, Elizabeth (6 August 2001), "Keeping Norfolk Alive", TIME Pacific, archived from the original on 13 October 2005
- ^ "UN adds Norfolk language to endangered list". ABC News. Retrieved 5 May 2013.
- ^ .
- )
- ^ "Preserving and reviving language and culture of Norfolk Island". Research Data Australia. Retrieved 31 October 2021.
- S2CID 144835575.
- ^ Mühlhäusler, Peter. Expert Report on the Distinctiveness of Norfolk Islander Ethnicity, Culture and the Norf'k Language (Norfolk Island — South Pacific) (PDF) (Report). pp. 104, 109.
- ^ a b Ingram, John; Mühlhäusler, Peter, Norfolk Island-Pitcairn English (Pitkern Norfolk) (PDF), archived from the original (PDF) on 25 February 2009, retrieved 20 April 2020, 2006
- ISBN 978-1-137-54066-9.
- .
- ^ Harrison, Shirley (1972). The language of Norfolk Island. p. 18.
- ^ Buffett, Alice, An Encyclopædia of the Norfolk Island Language, 1999
- ^ Buffett, Alice, An Encyclopædia of the Norfolk Island Language, 1999, p. xvi
- ^ Buffett, David E., An Encyclopædia of the Norfolk Island Language, 1999, p. xii
- ^ "Norfolk Online News". www.norfolkonlinenews.com. Archived from the original on 17 December 2013.
- ^ .
External links
- Learn Norfuk - Norfolk Island News[dead link] (Archived 2019-10-16 at the Wayback Machine)
- Norfuk-Pitkern phrasebook travel guide from Wikivoyage